Carnegie Gave Away His Fortune To Benefit Others

On Aug. 11, 1919, a remarkable philanthropist and industrialist went to his reward. Andrew Carnegie, the king of steel and architect of the second Industrial Revolution, made the equivalent of many billions of dollars… and then gave it all away.

Born in Scotland, Carnegie immigrated to America at the age of 13 and went to work as a “bobbin boy” in a cotton factory. A frugal Scotsman, he saved every penny he could, invested heavily in railroads, then used the dividends from his railroad stocks to build a steel mill. By the 1890s, his Carnegie Steel Co. was the largest and most profitable industrial enterprise in the world.

By the time he was 40 Carnegie was worth some $400 million—the equivalent of nearly $20 billion today.

He vowed to spend the second half of his life giving it all away. He sold his interests to J.P. Morgan and used his wealth to fund schools and universities and to construct 2,509 public libraries. Carnegie later heeded his lifelong urge to return to Scotland, where he died of bronchial pneumonia at the age of 83.

Post navigation

Chip Wood

is the geopolitical editor of PersonalLiberty.com. He is the founder of Soundview Publications, in Atlanta, where he was also the host of an award-winning radio talk show for many years. He was the publisher of several bestselling books, including Crisis Investing by Doug Casey, None Dare Call It Conspiracy by Gary Allen and Larry Abraham and The War on Gold by Anthony Sutton. Chip is well known on the investment conference circuit where he has served as Master of Ceremonies for FreedomFest, The New Orleans Investment Conference, Sovereign Society, and The Atlanta Investment Conference.

Join the Discussion

Comment Policy: We encourage an open discussion with a wide range of viewpoints, even extreme ones, but we will not tolerate racism, profanity or slanderous comments toward the author(s) or comment participants. Make your case passionately, but civilly. Please don't stoop to name calling. We use filters for spam protection. If your comment does not appear, it is likely because it violates the above policy or contains links or language typical of spam. We reserve the right to remove comments at our discretion.

Thegovernment’s assault on your personal liberties, including transgressions by the NSA and IRS, proves NOTHING IS OFF-LIMITS! But they’re not your only enemy. In your FREE copy of The Ultimate Privacy Guide discover simple, effective strategies for making Big Business and Big Government BUTT OUT of your personal life!

We will not sell or rent your email address to anyone for any reason. You can un-subscribe at any time.

Look Inside The Ultimate Privacy Guide

The unconstitutional assault on America's civil liberties is continuing with fanatical vigor thanks to the government's gross misuse of power, including transgressions by the NSA and IRS. NOTHING IS OFF-LIMITS! Government SPYING and MANIPULATION is now becoming the American way. But they’re not your only enemy. In your FREE copy of The Ultimate Privacy Guide you'll discover how to: